Bok Choy and Red Cabbage Salad with Snow Peas

In this colorful bok choy salad recipe, the combination of crisp snow peas, bok choy, sprouts, and red cabbage is so appealing, and it’s a feast for the eyes, too. It’s all pulled together with the salty-tangy flavors of sesame-ginger dressing.

This colorful salad can be made with any variety of bok choy — the kind with large white stalks and dark green leaves, or baby bok choy.

For the sesame-ginger dressing, you have a choice of using bottled, or making your own with our  easy Sesame-Ginger Salad Dressing recipe.

What to serve this salad with: This is a fantastic addition to easy Asian-style noodle and/or tofu dishes that don’t use the same vegetables. Try it with Simple Stir-Fried Tofu with Sweet and Savory Flavors or Easy Teriyaki Noodles with Tofu & Broccoli.

Bok choy 101

Of all Asian greens, bok choy is arguably the most widely known and available. In the west, we often use the term “bok choy” generically to describe the larger kind, with the crisp white stalks and dark leaves. But there are several other varieties.

Baby bok choy is a smaller version of the former variety, with stems and leaves of a fairly uniform, pale green hue. Some are the size of a hand or a bit larger; others are really diminutive and are used whole or at most cut in half lengthwise.

Most people who like greens (and those are the kind of people who would gravitate to this book) or who have eaten in Chinese restaurants have likely eaten this mild, easy-to-like vegetable. There are at least twenty in parts of the Asia where this kind of green is consumed with more frequency.

Either of the common varieties of bok choy are equally good raw in salads or very lightly cooked in stir-fries, soups, and braises. To prepare, you simply need to trim the bottom of the larger bok choy stalks and slice, leaves and all.

For lots more on this versatile vegetable, see our Guide to Bok Choy. And here are dozens of Delectable Plant-Based Bok Choy Recipes.

Adapted from Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, Bittersweet Blog.com.

Explore more …

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• Orange and Watercress Salad with Bok Choy or Belgian Endive
• A Guide to Common Cabbage Varieties
• Fresh Spring Salads

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Yield: 4 to 6

Bok Choy and Red Cabbage Salad with Snow Peas

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This colorful salad can be made with any variety of bok choy — the kind with large white stalks and dark green leaves, or baby bok choy.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups or so snow peas, trimmed
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts or other sprouts
• 5 to 6 stalks large bok choy, with leaves, or 2 medium whole baby bok choy, sliced
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, or as desired
• Bottled or homemade Sesame-Ginger Salad Dressing, as needed (see link in Notes)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Chopped peanuts or cashews, optional

Instructions

1. Combine the snow peas in a small skillet with a small amount of water. If using mung bean sprouts, add those as well (other kinds of sprouts can be left raw). Steam over medium heat for a minute or less, just until they’re bright green and have lost their raw quality. Transfer to a colander and rinse with cool water. Drain well.
2. Combine the snow peas and optional sprouts with the bok choy, cabbage, bell pepper, scallions, and optional cilantro and toss together. 
3. Add enough dressing to moisten, season with pepper, and toss again. 
4. Sprinkle some peanuts or cashews over the top, or pass around for individual servings, if using.

Notes

Here's the recipe for homemade Sesame-Ginger Salad Dressing, if making your own.

See lots more plant-forward salads & sides.